The world premiere of ‘Jean-Michel’ at Tribeca Festival lead to ravish applause and a Netflix acquisition.
Following the life of famed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, the lens looks deep into the life of the person behind the paintings. More than just a man with street art-inspired style and hangings in the most prestigious museums in the world, he was a person with a past full of color and misunderstandings.
Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman’s documentary goes back to the source for an intimate glimpse into the private life of one of the 20th century’s most iconic artists through the eyes of two of the people who knew him best: His sisters Lisane and Jeanine Basquait.
The film traces Basquiat’s early life as the child of middle-class Haitian and Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, through his adventures in the punk subculture and up to his breakout as a major American artist. A family life never truly revealed alongside a deep dive into Basquiat’s mental and emotional state with interviews from former friends and colleagues gives the viewer a look at a man they may have never understood until now.
The film is produced by Jordan Wynn, Andrew Fried, Harlin Lawal, Lana Barkin, Dane Lillegard, Ileen Sheppard Gallagher, Will Cohen, Quinn Whitney Wilson, and David Laven. Executive producers include Jeanine Heriveaux, Lisane Basquiat, Rob Guillermo, Nihaar Sinha, Louis Krubich, Dan Fried, Ray Maiello, Travis Kelce, Rhodes McKee, Mike Field, John Janick, Steve Berman, Michelle An, John Terzian, Jeremy Allen, Katherine L. Oliver, Lindsay Firestone, Anthony Konigbagbe, James Cunningham, Emi Stewart, Max Allman, J.M. Harper, Henrik Molin, and Ron Beck.
